


The Lion Tattoo

by Greyregal



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 02:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14034384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greyregal/pseuds/Greyregal
Summary: Day 2 for OQ PROMPT PARTY 2018What's the story behind the Lion Tattoo??





	The Lion Tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> Please Read and Review

**The Lion Tattoo**  
**Prompt 59, 84, 171, 172, and 220**  
**Read and Review**

_Past Camelot_

_The_ entire ballroom of the palace was alive.

  
The chandeliers have been lit.

  
And drapes were hung.

  
The musicians are stood upon a platform as men and women graced the dance floor.

It was such an evening.

Of course, it will be…

Apparently, it was the ball that would introduce the future king of Camelot to his constituents.

Everybody was playing along with the festivities.

Everyone… except Robin.

The ball was thrown in his honour but he wants no part in it.

The life of a royalty is too ostentatious for his taste.

It was but a charades wherein the pompous royalties pretend to care for their subjects when all they really care about is themselves.

They squander the money of the people for their wasteful ways when all they ought to really do is provide for them.

And Robin finds that distasteful.

So in this night… He decides his fate.

Held in his hand is a single bean his mother gave to him before she died.

And as the trumpets sounded to announce him, he bid goodbye to his life and Robin Hood, the man who steals from the rich and gives to the poor was born.

  
_Camelot Present Day_

The threat looming upon their heads was too palpable and as much as Robin does not want to, he will not let Regina go to Camelot alone with the Charmings and their pirate mascot.

Not now… Not ever

He knows the ways of those people…

Heck, he was even one of those people…

And he was sure that after his disappearance the person that replaced was the most ruthless amongst his father’s knights on the roundtable.

And he was not about to put her in danger…

Not when he can help it.

And now here they were, in a room with the lady who holds his soul, trying everything to find a way to get to Merlin.

She was getting overwhelmed by the pressure that saving a realm induces so he went behind her and embraced her, as though reassuring her that everything was going to be alright eventually.

He walked her to her quarters and they shared a glass of sherry in front of the fireplace with Regina’s back against him, and him cradling her.

She was slowly tracing the lines of his lion tattoo and he felt dread.

His tattoo was a symbol only those of his family are marked with.

In this realm, it was a claim to his birthright…

It was the family emblem.

But he was not ready to dwell on being a prodigal heir.

Until the night Regina’s life was threatened.

The ballroom was bursting with music and Regina kept on the façade of being the saviour.

Everything was fine until Arthur, the false King’s lackey cut in and invited Regina to a dance.

He felt it.

Something was wrong.

And he was damn right when he saw a sword being pointed to the Queen.

The bastard was going to kill her and he wasn’t going to stand by the corner and let that happen.

So his instincts overtook him, grabbed a sword and parried the strike.

Arthur was going to break them off when his arm was hit and his shirt was slashed.

But then silence filled the entire place.

Those who never accepted Arthur as the king were overjoyed.

Those who were for Arthur were frightened.

And Arthur himself was threatened.

For years, he was the King… or he thought so…  
But apparently…

“The King has returned,” said the girl with Henry

And everyone, from maidens to horsemen, knights, servants, butlers and the court bent their knees.

Leaving the bloodied man and his comrades the only ones standing.

Regina looked at him with a question but then the healers burst into the room and addressed their monarch.

“Your majesty, please this way” they instructed and brought him to the infirmary along with Regina.

Knights stood guard against the door while he was being treated by the best healers of the Kingdom…

They have been waiting for the real King to return.

For the years that Arthur claimed the throne and sat the crown against his head, Camelot has never flourished.

And it will not unless the rightful king reclaims the crown.

And they were not about to lose him.

After they stopped the bleeding, he and Regina were left for a moment and she asked him the question she’s been so adamant to know the answer to for the past hour.

Robin had her sit beside him and retold the story of a royal heir that got disillusioned with the customs and pomp of regality and turned to thievery.

“So you are the rightful king of Camelot…” she whispered and he nodded but before they can delve deeper into his story they interrupted by a messenger

“Your majesty, your court awaits you”

…

It was a court assembly that changed Camelot forever.

It was found out that Arthur was not ruling the Kingdom in the best interest of the people and the only who can overthrow him is the real heir.

And with the state that the realm was in, Robin couldn’t turn his back on his people.

It was a chance to instigate change.

A chance to be different, to actually help people.

So he stepped up.

The only thing that got him through it all was Regina’s faith.

She stood by him through his sleepless nights and confusing debacles.

Stayed with him without expecting anything from him.

She was his lifeline and she never turned his back on him.

He reclaimed his birthright and Camelot almost fell into a civil war, but the people wanted the real King.

But he swore that he won’t give up on Storybrooke…

Not when the darkness is looming over them.

The Charmings were still on the look for Merlin.

But the first magician was too elusive to be found.

Which is why they back to square one who can do nothing but present themselves in the coronation of the King.

When Robin stood in front of the throne and held the sceptre his family has held for generations, the friar started muttering in Latin…

And when Robin accepted the responsibilities he has to his kingdom and the crown touched his head, the largest tree in the courtyard burst into a thousand colours to reveal the sorcerer they been looking.

All along, he kept to himself until the time that Camelot rises again arrives.

So there he was, walking down the aisle towards the crowned king with eyes filled with hope.

And he bowed along with everyone else.

…

_A year later_

Storybrooke is safe.

Has been for a couple of months

The darkness has been re-tethered

And Regina was on her way to visit her King.

They haven’t seen each other in weeks so here she was, with the necklace Merlin gave her that enabled her jump through realms.

She closed her and imagined the blue-eyed man with the dimples that goes deep in her heart and she opened it, there he was in front of her… waiting

And they both embraced each other…

It has been a tradition for them to take walks and a couple of months prior, when they were finding their way back to the castle, they found their bridge which has been their space ever since.

They mounted their horses and trotted along the path of the forest that led to their place and when they arrived, Regina breath was taken away.

Lining along the singular path were candles shining against the dim of the setting sun.

Red petals of her favourite flower were scattered along her way and Robin led her to their bridge with garlands falling down their heads from the arabesque arch.

Regina held the rail facing the sun, breathing in the majestic view of the disappearing sun.

And when she turned back, tears filled her eyes.

There he was…

The man whose head is always higher than everyone else’s, kneeling in front of her on one knee.

For a moment, she forgot to breathe…

He reached and held hand and kissed it.

“Regina Mills…” he said in a shaky voice that made chuckle despite the nerves the unfolding moment was causing her to feel.

“Before I met you, I was living half a life, especially when Marion died and I thought that I’ve lost the love of my life. It is a strong belief that Camelot is a place for second chances, right now as I look at you I finally understand what they mean. Because for the first time in a long time, I could imagine a future where I was happy. Will walk towards that future with me? Regina Mills, Will you marry me?” he asked and she burst into tears.

She nodded her head and he slid the ring onto her finger.

It was then when he realised, that his future has finally arrived.

It was months until their wedding was held and the entire kingdom rejoiced with them.

A new crown was placed upon Regina’s head and she realized that she didn’t really mind being the queen.

As long as the man standing beside her was her soulmate.

As long as their family was together… Her, Him, Henry, and Roland were together, nothing else mattered.

And as the fireworks exploded above their heads to celebrate the union of the King and the Queen, they all began their journey.  
Their lives won’t be perfect.

But at the end of the day, every time they stare into each other’s eyes, they know that everything was going to be fine.

They were walking towards tomorrow…

And they can’t wait for it to come


End file.
